The present invention relates generally to magnetic levitation devices and more particularly to magnetic levitation self-regulating systems comprising permanent magnets, ferromagnetic cores and superconductive or permanent magnetic or non-magnetic conductive metallic strips capable of providing the stable hovering of a immobile or/and a moving working body in a magnetic field without any active control system and any energy sources.
To determine the stability of the equilibrium position of any conservative system, Lagrange's theorem is applied [3]. It states that if, in a certain position of a conservative system, its potential energy has a strict local minimum, then this position is that of stable equilibrium of the system.
It is known that the existing magnetic levitation systems of the electromagnetic type use iron cores and electromagnets with an air gap here between. The magnets do not have an equilibrium position therein, and the magnetic field is distributed in such a way as to create destabilizing forces only, tending to attract the magnets to the iron cores.
In order to provide stability to the known systems, a fast-response automatic control system is necessary. Such control is expensive and not reliable at present.
The magnetic levitation self-regulating systems of present invention use different elements from the known systems and include split iron cores with an air gap between their shoes rather than solid cores. Furthermore the present invention uses permanent magnets rather than electromagnets, and so superconductive or permanent magnetic or non-magnetic conductive strips. This structure provides an equilibrium position for hovering body in the air gap and the distribution of the magnetic field therein is capable of creating stabilizing forces only.
A linear synchronous motor having enhanced levitational forces U.S. patent application Ser. No. 764,734, a self-adjusting magnetic suspension for a levitated vehicle guideway U.S. patent application Ser. No. 691,431, and magnetic levitation self-regulating systems U.S. patent application Ser. No. 864,258 serves as examples for these elements.